Secret Fort

No, Secret Fort is not a cool clubhouse constructed out of pillows and quilts—it’s a yakitori bar attached to Yoroshiku in Wallingford. The menu has many different choices of skewered meats, but if you want to end up with a platter of hits, order peppery pork belly slices, rare seared tuna dolloped with wasabi, grilled glazed eel, and chicken thighs. The small plates are for the most part underwhelming (we're looking right at you, store-bought tortilla chips with chopped tomato chunks labeled as "yuzu shiso salsa"), so go all in on yakitori and cocktails. The place is generally pretty packed, but the mood is pretty lively and they have lamps that look like Super Mario question mark blocks.

photo credit: Nate Watters